1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reproducing images, using a printer or a monitor, from digital image data obtained by a digital camera, and also to a digital camera used for implementing the method.
2. Description of the Related Arts
The quality of a picture, especially the finish of a color picture, generally varies greatly depending on exposure conditions. Therefore, a camera has an AE mechanism for setting an appropriate exposure in response to how bright it is when a picture is recorded and luminance distribution on a target object. However, even an AE mechanism has a limit, and performance of the mechanism varies from camera to camera. Therefore, it is not necessarily guaranteed that a picture having a sufficient quality can always be recorded.
For this reason, at a photo shop or the like, processing for correcting overexposure or underexposure, and a bias in color is carried out by adjusting an exposure condition when a picture image is printed so that a picture print having as high a quality as possible is provided to a customer. In this case, image processing to be carried out obviously varies depending on a picture to be processed. Therefore, an optimal processing condition has been found by repetitive adjustments of an image processing condition based on a slight difference judged by experience in images shown on a monitor, or by confirming finish after a plurality of test prints have been created. Based on the image processing condition having been found, image processing is carried out to create a print which will finally be provided to a customer.
When an electronic camera using an electronic image pickup device (hereinafter called a digital camera) is used, the camera can often not carry out highly sophisticated processing due to restrictions on cost and processing time. In the case of a digital camera, an image obtained thereby may often be used as it is without a photo shop's involvement. Therefore, an AE mechanism having high performance may often not be incorporated with a digital camera, since picture quality is meant to be sufficient as long as an image displayed on a monitor having a comparatively generous tolerance in picture quality, such as an image displayed on a CRT monitor or on a liquid crystal display monitor attached to the digital camera, is not too blurry. As a result, when digital image data recorded by a digital camera are reproduced as a print, it is not easy to obtain optimal finish of a printed image having a strict picture quality tolerance, and a time consuming operation such as repeated test prints as described above is necessary.
However, correction by trial and error as described above is not only time consuming but also costly due to the test prints. It is also problematic that finish varies depending on experience or the skill of an operator who carries out the adjustment.